To apply a printed image onto a flat surface, it is necessary for the printing head and a substrate, the surface of which is to be printed, to be moved relative to each other at a constant speed. On the one hand, the printing head can be moved over the flat surface, and on the other, it is also possible to move the flat surface in front of a static printing head. The synchronization between the printing head and the particular linear drives takes place by high-resolution rotary encoders on the particular linear drives, wherein each pulse triggers the ink discharge of an entire column of the print sequence.
The application of the printed image can be transferred from flat surfaces to cylindrical rotationally symmetrical bodies. Moreover, a cylindrical surface and a, for example, vertically arranged printing head are rotated axially relative to each other. Through a constant angular velocity, the surface moves at a constant speed relative to the printing head or vice versa. In this case, pulses of a rotary encoder of a rotary drive trigger the printing of one line of the printed image.